What Is This Thing?

Control what you can -- be extra-kind to people tomorrow. Be a bit more tolerant. Show more love than you might ordinarily. People will need it. I will need it. And it is something that counteracts the hatred that brings people to do things like they did in Boston. It can't be undone, of course. It's just something we can all do and it gives the collective finger to that mindset. The internet will wait if you want to go hug your wife, husband, cat, dog, boyfriend, girlfriend, sister, brother, etc., etc., now. I promise the animal videos will be here when you get back.

Patton Oswalt's statement is pretty good, too:

I remember, when 9/11 went down, my reaction was, "Well, I've had it with humanity."

But I was wrong. I don't know what's going to be revealed to be behind all of this mayhem. One human insect or a poisonous mass of broken sociopaths.

But here's what I DO know. If it's one person or a HUNDRED people, that number is not even a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a percent of the population on this planet. You watch the videos of the carnage and there are people running TOWARDS the destruction to help out. (Thanks FAKE Gallery founder and owner Paul Kozlowski for pointing this out to me). This is a giant planet and we're lucky to live on it but there are prices and penalties incurred for the daily miracle of existence. One of them is, every once in awhile, the wiring of a tiny sliver of the species gets snarled and they're pointed towards darkness.

But the vast majority stands against that darkness and, like white blood cells attacking a virus, they dilute and weaken and eventually wash away the evil doers and, more importantly, the damage they wreak. This is beyond religion or creed or nation. We would not be here if humanity were inherently evil. We'd have eaten ourselves alive long ago.

So when you spot violence, or bigotry, or intolerance or fear or just garden-variety misogyny, hatred or ignorance, just look it in the eye and think, "The good outnumber you, and we always will."

The world still has far more very nice decent people in it than the creeps who did this. But I was in shock. One of my friends was near the finish line at the time and that added to the horror- not knowing where she was.
Miss C's comment should get the 'comment of the week' award... if such a thing exists!